


puppy love

by RENielsen



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: !!, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Anxiety Attacks, Dogs, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-20 19:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13724130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RENielsen/pseuds/RENielsen
Summary: He’s cursing himself over and over again for agreeing to this. He doesn’t like Louis. Louis doesn’t like him! What kind of dumb arse idea was this even?!or a “i’m moving and i know this is a long-shot but want my dog?? you’re the only other person it ever liked and i hate you but i love it” au





	puppy love

When Niall wakes up that morning it’s in no way pleasant. It’s a Sunday morning, and Niall was supposed to sleep in till noon to make up for barely having slept the rest of the week. Niall deserves sleeping in, but _no._ Some idiot is banging on his front door, _at six thirty am,_ demanding for him to wake up. Whoever is out there is not gonna survive. Niall will personally make sure of that!

After having covered his head with a pillow for a whole minute, trying to ignore the sound, Niall groans and rolls out of the bed to get the door. He’s stumbling through his flat, almost falling over a shoe carelessly thrown in the middle of the floor.

Another loud groan leaves him when he opens the door and sees who’s been trying to knock it down. Of bloody fucking course. Of all freaking people it could have possibly been. Niall doesn’t even stare at him for a mere second before going to slam the door right back into his face. If there’s one person in this world Niall can’t handle, especially not at six thirty in the goddamn morning, then it’s Louis Tomlinson.

Louis’ faster than him though, and must have been expecting what would happen, because he’s got a foot in the way of the door, so Niall can’t close it.

“What do you want,” Niall wails. He’s a bit ashamed of how pitiful he sounds, but not enough to actually change his demeanour. He’s tired, has slept maybe ten hours total the last three days. He was supposed to be sleeping until noon! Niall really can’t deal with this right now.

“I need you to do something for me. I know this is probably a long shot, but please listen?” Louis practically _begs_ , eyes pleading.

Niall’s been living in the same building as Louis for long enough to know that Louis demands often, rarely asks, and never begs.

A bit cautiously Niall says, “okay,” and looks at Louis expectantly. He can’t possibly think of anything that would make Louis come to _him_ of all people when he’s made it quite clear that he despises Niall more than anyone else he’s ever encountered. Niall’s not sure exactly where they went wrong after he first moved here, but Louis had barely looked at him for a second before deciding that the best possible solution to Niall becoming his neighbour would be to torment him as much as possible.

“I know you don’t like me much, which is totally my own fault and I apologise for that, but you’re literally my only solution. Cliff really likes you, more than anyone else but me and me mum, but mum can’t take him because of the kids, and the landlord is throwing me out. I promise, I’ve literally tried everything, but he won’t cooperate, but every time we walks past your door he loses it completely and I swear he’d run right in here if the door had been open. So I just thought that maybe we could try. I promise he’s a good boy! Full of manners that one! He’ll probably try to sneak into your bed, but he knows what down means. I just…”

Louis babbles away nervously, and Niall’s so, so confused.

“Louis!” Niall says sharply, because god, if he doesn’t shut up then Niall will probably have to hug him, because he really just looks so distressed, and Niall doesn’t handle distressed people very well. Especially ones that don’t really like him at all. “I need you to slow down and start over.”

Had Niall not been this tired, head full of dizziness and body ready to fall over, then maybe he’d been able to follow at least some of what Louis is saying. Right now though, the words don’t really make any sense in Niall’s head.

Louis takes a deep breath, stops being as jittery, which helps Niall calm down a bit too.

“I got fired from my job, so I couldn’t pay the rent. I have to be out of here before tomorrow, which is fine, I’ve got a friend who’s willing to lend me his couch until I get back up on me feet. His dog is a nervous wreck, though, so I can’t really bring Clifford along. I know you’ve only talked to him a couple of times, but he’s dying to get to you every time we see you. I really wouldn’t be asking if I had another option, but would you please take Cliff for a while? I’ll have him out of your way as soon as possible.”

“Clifford? Your dog?” Niall asks, squinting at Louis in disbelief. Louis just nods timidly. “You want me to take your dog, because you’re being thrown out?”

“Yes, Niall, that’s what I just said,” Louis grumbles scornfully. He looks like he wants to knock on the side of Niall’s head and ask if anyone’s home. He’s done it once before when he thought something Niall said was stupid, and Niall had almost strangled him in return. Probably why he keeps his hands to himself.

“You don’t even like me! And now you’re expecting me to take in your dog?!”

“Please?” Louis just says, and that’s how Niall ends up agreeing to take in freaking Louis Tomlinson’s dog, despite him knowing nearly nothing about dogs at all.

¤¤¤

Niall first regrets his decision when he wakes up a couple of hours later with a bit fresher mind. He regrets it yet again when Louis with a big wide smile starts bringing all sorts of stuff into him home; a big doggy bed that probably fills half of Niall living room, more toys that Niall had through all of his childhood, food bowls, water bowls, food and treats, brushes, shampoo, a crate, and Niall isn’t even going to mention the two bags of whatever other stuff a dog apparently needs. He regrets it when Louis comes stumbling through his door in the middle of the afternoon --without even knocking!-- demanding to get Niall’s phone number and forcefully putting his own into Niall’s phone. He’s gone before Niall can get his thoughts together enough to scold him. And he regrets it when Louis, with red-rimmed eyes and a flushed face full of dried tears, delivers Clifford that night before Niall goes to bed.

Louis pushes a piece of paper into one of Niall’s hands, and the lead connected to Clifford’s collar into the other. Niall barely registers the sniffled ‘thank you’ coming from Louis before he’s left alone with a dog he’s maybe patted once.

Niall has got so many regrets.

He looks down at the dog sitting by his feet. Clifford looks with a crooked head in the direction Louis disappeared in, but then he seems to notice Niall and happily starts wagging his tail and buts his nose into Niall’s hand.

“Uh.. hello?” he tries, and immediately feels stupid for trying to talk to the dog. Clifford seems happy though, so maybe it’s something Louis usually does too.

With a sigh, he begins walking into the flat, and thankfully Clifford follows him without any fuss, and when Niall takes a seat on the couch, Clifford is sprawled across Niall’s lap within a second. Niall doesn’t know how he managed, but the dog is totally tangled into the lead, and Niall can already see the ton of dog hair sticking to his couch. Niall can’t stop the twitch of his eye.

He takes a deep breath, tries not to curse too much over Louis. He then carefully begins to untangle the dog, and takes of the lead. When Clifford is free and settled back half on the couch and half on Niall, Niall remembers the piece of paper Louis had given him. It’s instructions written with a shaky handwriting.

                             _Make sure the food and water bowl is always filled - Cliff knows how to control himself_

_Cliff really likes walks, the more the better he says - at least 3 times a day!_

_A good brushing helps a lot to keep the flat somewhat free of hair_

_Treats can make you second best friend in no time -  Louis will always be best friend_

_Chew toys keep teeth away from furniture_

_Crate + doggy bed + food and water + toy + used shirt = happy doggy when Niall’s not there_

_Cuddles and love, always loads of cuddles and love_

_Call me if you need anything - Louis_

Niall eyes the note, then the dog, and then just because, reads the note again. He’s not sure he appreciates the responsibilities that come with having a dog. It’s not exactly like he can put the lead on the dog and tell it to walk itself. Niall’s barely got time to sleep some days, and he rarely cooks for the exact same reason. Between the bookshop in the morning five days a week, the pub in the evening three days a week, and the extra hours he put into practicing with the guitar and doing gigs, then Niall’s schedule more than packed.

If he gets up a bit earlier in the morning he’ll have time to talk Clifford for a walk, and he’ll probably be able to squeeze one in when he gets back from the bookshop. Instead of taking the long way home to buy food, he’ll have to go straight back, and take Clifford with him instead. It’ll be trickier in the evening. Sometimes Niall doesn’t get home until the wee hours of the night.

He’s cursing himself over and over again for agreeing to this. He doesn’t like Louis. Louis doesn’t like him! What kind of dumb arse idea was this even?!

“I guess we can do something about a couple of these before bed,” Niall mutters to the dog. In a way it feels awfully comforting to have someone to talk to, even if it’s a dog that doesn’t know what he’s saying either way.

The most pressing seems to be the first point of the list. Niall carefully tries to push Clifford away from his lap, hoping that the dog will stay where it is on the couch. He doesn’t even get up before Clifford is right in his heels, ready to follow along to see what’s happening.

Alright then.

After digging through the ridiculous pile of dog stuff Louis brought over for a moment, Niall finally finds two bowls. One he fills up with cold water, and the other with food. He puts the two bowls down on the floor in the kitchen, away from where he could possibly fall over them when he comes stumbling in here in the morning. Niall doesn’t fancy that much.

Clifford seems to give two shits about Niall’s effort, and ignores the food completely. He just sits by the door, waiting patiently for whatever Niall is gonna do now.

For a moment Niall considers brushing him, but he can already see how much fur would be flying around if he did that, and Niall can’t be bothered right now. Hopefully one day it won’t be obvious that he had a dog in the house. Instead he finds a couple of chewing toys from a bag, and throws them on the floor for Clifford to play with whenever. Niall’s gonna kill Louis if the dog eats his stuff. He did not sign up for that.

Next he sets up the crate. With a little trouble he gets the dog bed into the crate. He puts another few toys in there. He notices the two bowls fastened to the side of the crate, so he fills those up too. Then he uses too much damn time on trying to find a shirt or summat in the pile of stuff, but when he doesn’t find any he assumes that Louis meant for him to put his own shirt into the crate. Niall’s not particularly fond of the idea of having to sacrifice one of his shirts as it’s probably gonna end up chewed into pieces. He ends up finding a shirt from the bottom of his laundry basket that he wouldn’t get too sad about losing, but also notes down to himself that Louis’ gonna buy him a new shirt if this one is ruined.

Niall then notices what time it is, and groans quietly to himself. He’ll have to be up in five hours. Alright, time for bed then. He doesn’t even have to look before knowing that Clifford is following along. As soon as he opens the door into the bedroom, it seems like he’s got a guest for the night, because Clifford is wagging his tail happily from the top of Niall’s bed, and sending Niall the biggest puppy dog face he’s ever seen. Apparently Niall’s a big sucker for a good puppy dog face. Who would’ve thought? Not Niall, because it’s not exactly something he’s had to deal with before.

So the dog stays in bed, while Niall gets ready to join him. He finds a new outfit for the morning, gets changed into a pair of joggers and a t-shirt, and brushes his teeth. He’s just got into bed, carefully making sure not to push too much to the dog taking up most of the bed, when a text beeps in. From Louis, of course, because apparently he hasn’t suffered enough today already.

_say gnight to him from me? xx_

_Sure,_ Niall just sends back. He does end up saying goodnight to Clifford, but that’s more because Niall feels weird about the whole thing, and not because Louis asked him to.

He’s going through the normal routine of making sure he’s got alarms enough on to make sure to wake up in the morning --this time a lot earlier than he would have normally done, he thinks miserably-- when another text beeps in.

_no kisses?_

Niall snorts and shakes his head in disbelief. Then texts back, _You can kiss my arse!_ He doesn’t even get to close down the app before he gets a response.

_naughty! maybe i should spank it instead x_

The blood flushes to Niall’s cheeks immediately. He’s not embarrassed. He’s _not!_

_Maybe you should shut up and go to bed…_

_gnight then Nialler xxx_

Niall can almost see the way Louis is laughing at him. Because apparently that’s all he knows how to do when it comes to Niall.

 _Good night_ , he writes, and then after hovering over the x button for a while without doing anything, he sends the text, closes the phone and plugs it in the charger.

He can’t fall asleep, and he’s blaming Louis Tomlinson for all the misery he’ll be going through tomorrow with little to no sleep.

¤¤¤

His alarm is annoyingly loud, and something is licking him in the face. Together it’s too much for him to ignore it and go back to sleep.

“I’m up, go away,” he moans, and tries to push the dog away. Clifford doesn’t stop though, until Niall literally rolls out of the bed and lands on the floor with a thud, in a try to get away from Clifford’s tongue. The dog sticks his head out so he can see Niall rolling around on the floor, trying hard to keep back the painful groan. His bum knee does not appreciate a trip to the floor.

He wobbles a little when he gets up, and is careful not to put to much weight on the knee. Perfect. Absolutely, bloody perfect.

In the bathroom, Niall swallows a couple of painkillers, and uses too long in the shower in a hope that it’ll soothe the pain just a little. He ends up skipping breakfast, and the morning walk with Clifford is too short, which makes Niall feel bad, but he has to be at the bookstore by seven, and the walk there was already twenty minutes before he had to wobble the whole way there.

Clifford is stubborn about going into the crate, and it first happens when Niall finds the treats, and uses them and his shirt to coax Clifford into going in there.

He’s already running late, but before leaving the building he finds his extra key, and bangs on Louis’ door until he sleepily opens. He squints at Niall, like he’s trying to convince himself that yes, Niall’s in fact there.

“Here!” Niall says, shoving the key into Louis' hand. “Take your freaking dog for a walk, because I don’t have the bloody time, and he kept looking at me like I just as well could have run over his best dog mate, and I don’t know how to be a good dog parent.”

Niall’s wailing, and he’s probably got red patches all over his face like he tends to so when upset, but he can’t make himself care. His knee is throbbing, everything feels sore after falling out of bed, and once again Niall hasn’t slept even nearly enough. The minor breakdown he’s having on Louis’ doorstep was probably doomed to happen sooner or later, but he has hoped at least that it wouldn’t be right in front of the lad who for some reason doesn’t seem to like him, even though Niall doesn’t know what he should have possibly done wrong for that to happen.

Louis looks spooked, like he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself when Niall’s basically a sobbing mess in front of him.

He’s about to turn around and leave, when Louis grips his wrist, softly like he doesn’t want to scare Niall away. It’s with a serious and worried expression that Louis looks at him.

“You’re shaking. Shit! C’mon, breathe for me, love. Deep breath. Do you need to sit down? Let's sit down for a moment, yeah?”

He keeps his voice calm, and gently gets Niall seated on the floor, while squatted in front of him. Niall tries really hard to do as Louis said, deep breaths in and out, but he’s just barely succeeding letting out little hiccups out air.

“That better? Breathe with me, Nialler,” Louis says. He grabs Niall’s hand with his own, and places it on his chest so Niall can feel how it’s moving with every calm and even breath. Niall gasps for breath, but follows the rhythm of Louis’. It helps more than Niall could have hoped for. Louis doesn’t crowd in on him either, and only holds his hand with light fingers, ready to let go at any minute if needs be. “That’s good. You’re doing so well, darling.”

They just sit there, on the floor outside Louis’ flat, for what feels like ages. Long enough that Niall knows he’ll be late for work. He promised he’d meet in earlier, help out since the girl usually getting in this early has been sick. The guilt and anxiety from breaking his promise just make sure it’s even longer before he’s calmed down.

When he finally does, he looks down at the floor ashamed. He clings to Louis’ shirt; can’t quite make his fingers let go of the fabric. “Sorry,” he mutters.

“Cliff really treating you that badly?” Louis tries to joke, but Niall doesn’t really have the energy to give him a smile in return. The smile drops a little, and the worry is shining through. “Wanna share what’s going through that head of yours? What got you so worked up?”

“Don’t have time. Had to be at work at seven. Probably late already,” Niall murmurs.

For a moment Louis just looks at him considering, but seems to make up his mind with a sigh. “Alright. I’ll drive you. Can’t get you there at seven, but you’ll only be a few minutes late.”

Louis helps him up from the floor, and Niall winces when he automatically puts weight on his bad knee. He’d completely forgotten all about it in the middle of his bubbling anxiety. It’s clear how much Louis wants to ask, but in the end he keeps his mouth shut, and Niall’s grateful. He doesn’t need to Louis to know every single part of his miserable life. One breakdown about it must be more than enough.

Louis tries to be subtle about it, but Niall isn’t an idiot and it’s clear to see how he keeps a watchful eye on every step Niall takes, almost as if to make sure that he doesn’t end up stumbling. A couple of time he starts reaching out, but ends up dropping his hand before he can touch him. Niall pretends not to notice, and just wobbles in the direction Louis points him in.

The car is small, and nothing fancy at all, but who’s Niall to judge. He hasn’t owned a car in his life. Even though the car is a right mess inside, and smells kinda funky, then Niall’s still so fucking grateful when he sinks into the passenger seat.

When Louis asks, Niall tells him where the bookshop is placed, and how to get there fastest. They’re quiet for a bit, before Louis breaks the silence.

“Thought you worked in a bar?” Immediately a little bit of colour spreads across Louis’ cheeks. Nowhere near as visible as it would’ve been on Niall though. Niall’s never told him that. Haven’t talked all that much with Louis outside of the times the other boy seemed to have some sort of sly comment to make about him.

“Uh, I do? A couple of nights every week.  It’s nice with the extra money, and the owner is cool. Even lets me play there some nights when I’m off the clock,” Niall mutters. And because he can’t not, he asks, “How did you even know?”

Louis mumbles something Niall can’t understand, so he just looks at him with raised eyebrow until Louis gives in and repeats. “Was out with some friends once. Saw you there.”

It seems innocent enough, so Niall really doesn’t understand the deep blush, or the way Louis stubbornly won’t even glance at him for a second. It’s whatever really, so Niall doesn’t push it. Louis’ weird, and Niall won’t pretend to understand him in any way.

They’re silent for the rest of the trip, and when Louis asks when Niall’s off, Niall tells him in the belief that he just wants to know if he should walk Clifford again before he gets home.

He’s still limping when he gets out of the car, but he’s also used enough to the occasional pain in his knee to ignore it somewhat. At least until he gets home and is able to numb the pain with some painkillers. If he’s lucky then they’ll work until he’s done with his shift at the bar.

The day seems never-ending. It’s a slow day at least, so not much is expected of him except filling up a couple of shelves and take the occasional customer that walks in. It helps that he doesn’t have to run around, but not enough that Niall isn’t white in the face from pain when a co-worker takes over and Niall can go home.

He’s so ready to call a cab instead of talking the walk like he usually would, but Niall doesn’t even get to think any further about it before someone is honking at him. Louis’ waving at him from inside his car, parked just on the other side of the street.

The confusion must be so obvious on his face, because Louis is laughing when Niall makes his way over there.

“Get in!” he yells loud enough for Niall to hear through the window. He does, a bit hesitant, but he does.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you shopping. You’ve got absolutely no food in your house, mate,” Louis says cheerfully, as he starts driving. In the opposite direction of Niall’s flat.

“Was planning to get takeaway.”

“You eat that too fucking often. I’ve seen you with a bag of take-away three times this last week alone. It wouldn’t even surprise me anymore if you don’t eat anything else. Not after seeing your kitchen.”

“I don’t have time to cook often,” Niall grumbles, arms crossing over his chest. Niall really doesn’t know why he feels like defending himself like this. Louis probably eats his fair share of crap too! Why’s he even looking through Niall’s kitchen?!

“You do today. Lots of time even. Found the number you have for your boss at the bar. Told him that you have a bad knee day, and that you needed a night off.” Niall’s staring at him, too fucking shocked to even scold him. “You’re welcome, by the way,” Louis says, sending him a side glance. “Bloody looks three seconds from fainting already. “

“You can’t just do that,” Niall finally chokes out, but Louis doesn’t even look sorry.

With a shrug he says, “Of course I can. Just told your boss I was your boyfriend, which by the way, dude, he sounded both extremely happy for you and equally disappointed that you haven’t told him. Told me I shouldn’t let you hide me away, and come around the pub once. You’ve probably got some explaining to do now.”

Louis crinkles his eyes when he laughs, smile wide and relaxed. Niall kinda wants to smack him, and kinda wants him to laugh like that forever and ever. Niall grumbles loudly, and the frown won’t quite leave his face either. He’s upset with Louis for walking into his life like this, seemingly trying to put his imprint in every single part of Niall’s life he possibly can.

The smile dims a little when Louis notices the frown on Niall’s face. He doesn’t look remorseful, though, or even understanding as to why he can’t just mess with people lives like this. You don’t insist the neighbour you don’t even like take in your dog, you don’t look through however much of their home _without_ permission when they’re not home, you don’t call other people in sick from work, and you certainly do not go around telling people you’re their boyfriend. You don’t just squeeze yourself into someone’s life without asking if there’s space for you, or if you’re even wanted there. Niall was good before all this happened. Great even! He does not need a problem shaped in the form of Louis to try and fit with whatever puzzle pieces he’s already got combined.

“I was just trying to help,” Louis says, voice suddenly seeming small. Niall crumbles immediately.

“I know,” he says. “Thank you.”

It’s weird being around Louis like this. As soon as they get to the store, Louis somehow convinces Niall that it’s a great idea that he should be seating in the shopping cart while Louis pushes him around the store, placing all kinds of food and whatever else Louis apparently seems to think he’s in need of right on top of him. He’s basically buried when they reach the cashier, and even though Niall was sure he’d get scolded for sitting in the cart, then the cashier just laughs and jokes around with Louis if they should scan Niall in too.

“Nah, probably can’t afford everything then, and would hate to put him back on the shelf,” Louis smirks. Niall pretends he doesn’t notice how his own cheeks heats up. He’s buried beneath a mountain of stuff. It gets warm!

Louis ends up paying for everything, and doesn’t listen to Niall at all when he tries to protest. Louis has literally just been thrown out of his flat on this very day and doesn’t even have a job at the moment, and yet he still insists on paying for the stuff that’s meant to go into Niall’s kitchen.

Niall kinda expect for it to turn awkward during the ride home, but Louis keeps the conversation light and happy, chattering about movies Niall’s never watched, which apparently is a sin according to the way Louis gasps and slaps his arm when he tells him. As soon as Louis notices Niall’s interest in music, he quickly turns the topic on to that instead. He talks about Oasis, The Fray, how he went to a concert with Green day not long ago, and about how he’s got tickets to Arctic Monkeys next time they’re in England. He then proceeds to push until Niall tells him about some of his own favourite music. Eagles, Fleetwood Mac - “ah, some the good old stuff, yeah? That’s cool, mate!” - The Lumineers, Gavin James, James Bay, and Niall would probably have continued on babbling about all his favourite artists, because music means the world to him. The only reason he doesn’t is that Louis is parking the car outside their - Niall’s, now - building.

Louis carries all the bags up, insisting Niall just carries himself, and even though he feels like he’s being impolite then he doesn’t protest much. He already knew from several occasions that Louis is a stubborn little shit when he wants to be, and today has nothing but proved it several times.

The way Louis easily settles into Niall’s flat is equally impressive and frightening. He wanders right into Niall’s kitchen, and doesn’t even hesitate when he starts filling the cabinets and the fridge up. He doesn’t ask where everything goes, just puts it where it seems to fit. Some of the food he leaves out, and then starts pulling pots and pans out.

“Would you let Cliff out? He’s whining. Doesn’t particularly like being locked in the crate when someone is home.”

“Uh, sure,” Niall says, and slowly turns around.

As soon as Niall enters the living room, the whining becomes even louder. Clifford is lying on his belly, when Niall gets in there, but rolls right onto his back when he gets closer to the crate. Tail wagging happily, paws in the air, and head crooked towards Niall. Niall’s heart melts immediately. He’s never been that much of an animal lover, but he’s developing a soft spot for the dog. His eye barely even twists when he lets Clifford out, and the first thing the dog does is to shake his fur so his long hair flies right onto Niall’s carpet.

Niall does however almost have a heart attack when he sees the state of his kitchen.

“Out!” he shrieks.

A bomb seems to have exploded in the two minutes he left Louis alone in here. There’s tomato sauce on the counter and the wall, Louis seems to have dropped most of the spaghetti on the floor, there seems to be water everywhere _except_ the pot Louis was supposed to boil it in, and there’s half cut up vegetables randomly thrown where ever.  

Louis doesn’t even have time to react before Niall is pushing him right out of the kitchen and smacks the door in his face.

“Don’t you want your spatula back?” Louis asks through the door.

“What in the world were you using a spatula for? You were cooking spaghetti and tomato sauce!” Niall asks with a sigh as he opens the door and takes the spatula from Louis' hand. Louis just shrugs sheepishly in return.

“Me mum says the only thing I should be allowed to make in a kitchen is a sandwich. She then saw me make a sandwich, and regretted her words immediately. I do make a mean tea, though,” Louis says with a bright smile. It isn’t really an answer to Niall’s questions, though at the same time it really is.

“And why were you attempting in _my_ kitchen then?”

“Just wanted to do something nice for you. Seems like you’ve had a long day and that I’ve just made your life kinda messy by asking you to talk Cliff, but you did and I just wanted to show you that I’m grateful. Should have thought it through, probably though.”

Niall wants to stay mad, but it’s hard when Louis is looking down the floor, saying _things_ that make Niall feel cared for, even though the whole situation is kind of fucked up.

“Go… go spend time with your dog or something. Stay away from my kitchen.” There’s no bite to the words, Niall knows that. He isn’t even sure if he wanted there to be. Everything feels so confusing right now, and Niall doesn’t know how to act around Louis anymore. It was easy before today. Louis would pester him at any chance he got, and Niall would roll his eyes and try to stay out of his way. Niall knew the rules to that game. He doesn’t to this one.

Louis grins, but does as he says. Clifford looks between the two when Louis starts walking into the living room, almost like he doesn’t know who to follow. He stays with Niall until Louis whistles at him, and Niall almost can’t stop the laugh from leaving him, when he hears Louis mutter, “We’ve talked about this! You like me better!”

Niall cooks for them. It’s nothing special, as he really doesn’t cook that often. To Louis’ standards though, it must be quite great. Niall will never be able to forget how quick Louis was able to muck up his kitchen and the food. When the sauce and the spaghetti is on the stove and the salat cut and mixed in a bowl, Niall cleans up the mess in his kitchen. He can breathe a little easier when it’s once again spotless.

They eat dinner together on Niall’s couch, Niall with his feet propped up on Louis lap, because apparently that was necessary according to Louis. Niall’s watching the telly, and pretends he isn’t bothered by the fact that Louis must have sneaked two forks with him in here and is using one of them to feed Clifford. He also pretends not to be by the tomato sauce on his carpet, while in his mind trying to convince himself that it’s a bad idea to strangle Louis slowly and painfully.

He’s beginning to understand that while it’s messy in itself to have a dog in the house, then that mess increases tenfold when Louis is in the house too.

It’s a bit easier to be forgiving afterwards, when Louis with skilled fingers massages his knee. It soothes the pain enough for Niall to pass out on the couch at half past six pm. He’s warm and cosy, Clifford having snuck his way up on the couch now pressed against Niall’s side, and with Louis at his feet. The whole thing feels so domestic, and Niall finds that he’s quite enjoying it. It could also be his sleepy brain playing with him. The thought is only confirmed when he swears he hears Louis say, “Sweet dreams, love.”

¤¤¤

After that Louis kinda just never leaves again. He’s still there the morning after, when Niall wakes up in his own bed despite falling asleep on the sofa, he drives Niall to work in the morning and picks him right back up in the afternoon. He hangs out at the bar during Niall’s shift, sending him worried eyes whenever Niall stumbles just a little.

Bressie, the owner of the bar, is thrilled by the whole development. He chats with Louis, and keeps telling him how happy he is that Niall’s finally seeing someone. Niall can’t find it in him to break it to Brez that they aren’t actually dating. He’ll probably tell him in a couple of weeks that he’s ‘broken it off’ with Louis. Bressie doesn’t actually have to know that the whole thing was a lie the whole time.

It’s just around midnight when Louis is hanging over the counter half asleep, and Bressie with a laugh sends both of them home with the words, “Get your boyfriend home in bed, you fucker,” to Niall, and “Don’t be a stranger,” to Louis.

Louis drives them to Niall’s flat, but instead of saying goodbye to Niall and drive to his friend’s place, then he kinda just turns off the car and follows Niall closely like it’s the most normal thing in the world. After muttering something about taking Cliff outside, Louis disappears for a couple of minutes leaving Niall there alone. Niall’s never minded being alone before, but suddenly the flat seems too empty. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t protest when Louis comes back up and falls face first into Niall’s bed with Clifford curled up by his feet.

Instead, he gets undressed and carefully slips under the blanket on the opposite side of the bed. Though Niall falls asleep as far away from Louis he can get, then he still wakes up with Louis’ arms around his waist and his nose buried in Louis’ neck.

The next couple of days goes much like it. Wake up curled up in Louis’ arms, work, dinner, work or movies, and then falling asleep in bed with Louis and Cliff. On Friday Niall performs at the bar, and Louis is right there cheering him on the loudest of everyone. On Saturday Niall meets the friend Louis was supposed to be staying with, and he realises once again that Louis isn’t actually supposed to be in his home. When Liam goes home later that day it’s without Louis, and he’s leaving back a backpack filled with Louis’ clothes. The expression on Louis' face is dismayed. On Sunday Louis wakes Niall up with tea and the worst pancakes of his life. He’s wearing one of Niall’s jumpers, and the sweats Niall wore the day prior, apparently having forgotten every bit about his own clothes somewhere in the living room. They’re cuddled up to each other the whole day, watching movies, napping and taking Cliff for walks.

Louis has become such a steady part of Niall’s life already, and really, Niall’s quite content with the thought of that.

The next weeks starts, looking a lot like the one before. The week after does too, except when Louis kisses him softly after he’s done with his gig at the bar, still buzzing all over. That week he realises he might have fallen a little bit in like with Louis. It doesn’t take long to know that it isn’t so much like as it’s love.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments always appreciated! Thank you for reading! You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://nialliesmiley.tumblr.com/post/171444699968/puppy-love-niall-horanlouis-tomlinson-6336)


End file.
